i never go anywhere without a camera. i drink to get drunk. comfortable with technology, but not a geek. write for the satisfaction, not the story. take people's advice, but careful of their opinions.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

the advertising asshole

"Have I mentioned I’m in advertising? Yeah I've got my own agency… I’m the CEO! It’s great, I get paid lots and never let customers push me around. If they try anything, I’m all like “hand!” and just move onto the next million dollar account."

Have you seen American version of ‘The Office’? I have a lecturer that is not only the spitting image of the manager, but he’s just as stupid. You know, the guy from the 40 year old virgin?

He has a nasty habit of answering questions by talking so much and jumping from point to point that by the end of his explanation he’s left everyone so confused that they nod and smile, avoiding eye contact just in case he decides to have another stab at it. You can’t help but get the idea that he doesn’t know the answer.

He supposedly runs his own agency in Brisbane with a staff of forty but it’s not any agency that I’ve ever heard of. And with more staff than most of the big three here in Brisbane, you’d think you would have.

A favourite past time is telling us how much he never lets clients push him around, how much he makes and reminding us that he’s the boss of the agency. He even calls himself a CEO!

In the lecture tonight, he told us that one way that he would save money for a client on say, their media plan, would be to not book any magazines or newspaper spots.

He then, very matter-of-factly, told us how he knew all the deadlines of pretty much all publications.

Continuing, he explained how he would wait until the deadline approached and then call the publication and offer to take the spots off their hands for a fraction of the price.

Pausing he looked around the lecture theatre to take in all the acknowledging nods and ‘aahs’ from the kids in the lecture hall.

The stupidity of this guy is cringe worthy.

These kids in the class pretty much all want to work in the ad industry, but none of them have ever seen the inside of an agency so they don’t know that what this guy is telling them is complete rubbish.

Just the other week someone asked what salary they could expect first year out in their first ad job. His reply? He told them that they could expect to get a starting salary of $40,000 first year out as an account coordinator.

That’s just mean.

Regardless if you have a degree or not, no one is going to pay someone fresh out of uni with no experience $40,000 to make coffee, file job bags and type up con reports. Because that’s what an account coordinator does weather you like it or not.

He comes across as someone that has a lot to prove. Maybe he’s compensating in some way. I’m not really sure.

4 comments:

dig dug
said...

1. I thought that was the university for the real world.2. I wish that didn't call the US Office 'The Office'. Just doesn't seem right (Extras by the way looks even better than The Office -even after seeing just one episode)3. You 've gotta video this guy

he sounds so cliche ridden it aint funny ... and tha thing is his students are so green they dont know any better .... runs his own agency 40 staff .. i call BS .. oh wells hes blogged about now, now a crafty students just needs to send him this email ... muhahahah ...